So you might be surprised - shocked, even - to learn that Bayless used to be more than a talking head seeking out controversy: he used to be a writer seeking out controversy. THE STARTING FIVE has Part One of an exhaustive interview with Bayless about his columns and books, focusing on his expose “Hell-Bent: The Crazy Truth About the’Win or Else’ Dallas Cowboys,” which created a scandal for allegedly “outing” Cowboys QB Troy Aikman. And Bayless isn’t backing down. Sort of.

Overall, things haven’t been going that great for the Minnesota Vikings in the last few weeks. While they’re still in first place in the NFC North over the Chicago Bears, they have the possible suspensions of The Williams Wall looming over their heads, and now they have to put their playoff hopes in the incompetent hands of Tarvaris Jacksonthanks to Gus Frerotte’s broken back. Still, despite all the troubles facing the rest of his team, things are going pretty well for tight end/flasher Visanthe Shiancoe.

Ever since Visanthe unsheathed his sword on Fox’s postgame coverage last Sunday, he’s received quite a bit of attention. Where as before Sunday he was just a tight end with a weird name nobody could pronounce, now he’s a tight end with a weird name nobody can pronounce who has showed his penis to the world. The world noticed that penis too. Well, at least the porn world noticed.

Congratulations to Kobe Bryant for scoring his 22,000th career point against the Indiana Pacers last night. Your reward? A total fourth-quarter collapse by your team’s defense and a head-scratching 118-117 loss. Personally, as I gift I’d rather receive a pair of socks, or even a gift certificate to Arby’s than that.

The reason the Lakers blew a 15-point fourth quarter lead was simple: they stopped playing defense. They gave up 32 points in the quarter and six offensive rebounds, the last being Troy Murphy’s tip-in that gave the Pacers the victory. It’s the first Lakers loss to a bad team this season, but knowing the team’s recent history of falling victim to seemingly overlooking bad teams. (Between them and the USC football team, there must be something in the LA water.)

Meanwhile, Dallas Stars winger Sean Avery’s mouth has gotten him in trouble yet again. He’s been suspended indefinitely for “inappropriate public comments” after running his mouth before a game against the Calgary, specifically targeting Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf, who happens to be dating Avery’s ex, hottie actress Elisha Cuthbert.

Here’s Avery’s comments. If you look closely, you can see his teammates praying for an errant piece of Sputnik to come crashing down on him:

A class act, that Sean Avery. USA TODAY breaks down some of his recent “greatest hits“, including his swipe a few years ago at French-Canadians. This is Avery’s first season with the Stars, but he’s already managed to alienate his team. Dallas owner Tom Hicks said that the team would have suspended Avery if the league didn’t, and teammates like Marty Turco are already sick of his act. And we know how opponents feel about him.

If you are Thomas Cole, a former assistant girls high school basketball coach in Orange County, and you are accused of having sex with a minor, you might not want to text her. The ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER says that apparently Cole felt otherwise.

To the surprise of some, the ACC/Big Ten Challenge has actually been a challenge so far, with each conference winning three games. Duke won the marquee match-up last night, rolling past Purdue 76-60 in what FOX SPORTS’ Jeff Goodman calls an especially impressive performance.